For the second time in history since the annual awards began in 1929, the Oscars will be without a host.
ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke said this years’ pre-eminent Hollywood event would only have “presenters host the Oscars”.
The ceremony, happening on Feb 24th (Feb 25th in Australia) is televised by ABC, who is also closely involved in planning the telecast.
The Oscars host traditionally opens the awards with a monologue, which usually focuses on celebrities, the movie industry and modern cultural and political affairs.
Comedian Kevin Hart was set to host this years’ ceremony, however, he has stepped down from the role following the resurfacing of past homophobic tweets.
No replacement was announced.
Burke said the decision for the Oscars to go hostless this year was made after “the messiness” over Hart’s withdrawal.
She told reporters at the Television Critics Association meeting in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena: “After that, it was pretty clear that we were going to stay the course and just have presenters host the Oscars.
“We all got on board with that idea pretty quickly”.
The Oscars ceremony has gone without a host only once before in its 91-year history, in 1989.
